With all this year's organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamps behind us, the NFL will take its annual month-long break before training camps start rolling out in the second half of July.
Ideally, there won't be much going on -- in terms of NFL news -- during this lull in the action. But for fantasy managers who take their preparation seriously, there is no downtime. That's why the Fantasy Notebook will keep rolling with a position-by-position series on underrated players.
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This week, we're going with Underrated Running Backs. We started with RB2s capable of RB1 production on Monday and followed up with Talented but Risky RBs yesterday. Today, we'll examine a couple of . . .
RBs in New Places With the Talent to Excel
There's no shortage of players who could benefit from their offseason moves. That includes running backs who appear destined to split time as we head into training camp, with opportunities to earn more. As always, circumstances and performance will determine the ultimate outcomes. But identifying those with the talent and potential opportunities to excel can be a path to fantasy success.
Let's check a couple of players who match this archetype.
Opportunity and Past Production Have My Attention
As Newsweek's Rowan Fisher-Shotton wrote, "The Washington Commanders had an eventful offseason." While general manager Adam Peters put an emphasis on defense, there were changes on offense as well.
It's not a reach to say fantasy investors should view it as an offensive reset.
David Blough got promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Kliff Kingsbury, and tight end Chig Okonkwo got a three-year, $27 million deal. Washington also said goodbye to a lot of familiar faces, including Deebo Samuel Sr. and center Tyler Biadasz.
The backfield lost Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez Jr., who both did not re-sign.
To help fill the void, the Commanders signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Rachaad White the day after Rodriguez left. Washington also added former Browns running back Jerome Ford and drafted Penn State's Kaytron Allen in the sixth round of April's draft.
With White, Allen, and Ford joining Croskey-Merritt and McNichols, this year's backfield appears to be every bit as -- if not more -- ambiguous than it was last season.
But even if it's the most likely, a timeshare is not the only possible outcome. There is another . . .
White Could Shine
If White earns a more significant role and outperforms expectations, it wouldn't be the first time.
He operated as a feature for the Buccaneers back in 2023 and delivered his best season as a pro, rushing for 990 yards on 272 carries and six touchdowns, with 64 catches for 549 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.
He finished that season as fantasy's RB4.
White has played a situational role since. As ESPN's Mike Clay notes, White is fine as a rusher, but he's a standout as a receiver. He's the only back in the NFL with 40-plus catches in each of the past four seasons, and his 89.1 percent career catch rate is easily best in NFL history among players with 100-plus targets.
So it's possible he'll focus on a receiving role in Washington, as well. After all, White will be a familiar face for quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The pair first played together at Arizona State in 2020 and 2021. During their final season together in Tempe, White was a dual-threat weapon, recording 1,462 scrimmage yards and 16 total touchdowns.
White and Daniels have maintained a brotherly connection since their college days.
Sorting Out the Possibilities
While we all expect Washington's backfield to be in a timeshare with Croskey-Merritt and White splitting most of the touches, that's not chiseled in stone.
Reports out of OTAs and minicamp were consistently positive, with Fisher-Shotton arguing the player who could make the sneakiest impact in 2026 is White. CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan also flagged White as a sleeper bargain earlier last week after Dan Quinn praised the running back coming out of OTAs and minicamp. ESPN.com's John Keim also cited White's recent performances.
Their current Average Draft Positions (ADPs) suggest the fantasy hive mind is picking up on the buzz. Croskey-Merritt was consistently the first Commanders back off the board for most of the offseason.
That's changed.
White is now RB39. Croskey-Merritt is RB40. Both are going in Round 9 of early drafts.
But what if one of them earns a more prominent role? And who's the most likely candidate if that happens?
I've seen flashes of what Croskey-Merritt can do.
Exactly two flashes in the form of 20-plus point fantasy scoring. He had only five games with double-digit scoring en route to an 8.5-point-per-game average that ranked 43rd at the position.
I'm more confident in White.
He has had a top-five season and is who Footballguy Matt Waldman believes can realistically deliver a top-15 PPR season -- even if the former Buc is sharing the workload.